


lights are brighter when you're near

by krewella



Series: in this moment (i could die with you) [2]
Category: Cow Chop (YouTube RPF), The Creatures (Youtube RPF)
Genre: Alcohol Doesn't Solve Your Problems Idiot, Aleks' Drunken Antics, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 21:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10750347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krewella/pseuds/krewella
Summary: Aleks should've known James would be there for him, but he never claimed to be smart about these sort of things.





	lights are brighter when you're near

**Author's Note:**

> You guys responded really positively to my last drabble in this series, thank you!
> 
> This is another cutesy one, because I just spent the past few days listening to Dear Evan Hansen and I want fluffy things. 
> 
> As always, you can find me at jamesrwilsonjr on Tumblr and @immortalnovas on Twitter.

Aleks doesn’t remember why he was fighting with his girlfriend. He thinks it has to be for some other meaningless thing. All they had done lately was fight and go to sleep angry. James got the brunt of his complaining with the spillover being attributed to whoever happened to be in the same room as them at the time. 

James listens absently most of the time. He used to care, but the stuff Aleks and his girlfriend picked fights over was honestly just the stupidest shit. He doesn’t understand why Aleks is still with her if this is all they did. He’s not sure if there’s some ulterior motive underlying that desire to see Aleks split from his girlfriend, but he didn’t need to address that right now. 

Aleks is brought back to the present when his girlfriend huffs exaggeratedly and exclaims, “If you’re not even going to listen to me, then what’s the point anymore, Aleks?” 

She turns on her heel and storms out of the house. Aleks wishes he felt something at seeing her go, but it brings more relief than anything. Maybe the guys will finally stop avoiding him at the house. 

_James never avoided you_. _He always listened._

Aleks shoves those thoughts to the far recesses of his mind where they can’t be reached. He doesn’t want to deal with the consequences of them at the moment. 

He goes to blow off some steam playing some games and cracking open a beer from the fridge. 

He soon realizes the alcohol was a bad idea as the guilt and heartbreak from recent events settle over him like a suffocating blanket. His less than sober mind just encourages him to keep drinking, and he goes along with it. 

He’s definitely drunk now and absolutely wrecked any chance at winning the match he’s playing. He wonders if James is up right now and decides now would be the perfect time to see if he can come over. 

He fumbles for his phone a couple of times, fascinated by how it suddenly seems very slippery to hold onto. 

He finally manages to tap into his favorites in his contacts and he lets the dialtone play in his ear as he stares distractedly at how the ceiling looks like it makes a face. 

James picks up after the fourth ring, and Aleks breaks into a grin at hearing his voice. _That’s his best friend, James_ \- Aleks really loves James. _James is the best. James always appreciates Aleks and his ideas. Why isn’t Aleks dating James? That seems like a good idea._

Aleks has been going on this tangent so long in his head that he forgets he’s talking to James on the phone. 

“Aleks? What do you want?” James asks grumpily. Aleks belatedly realizes it’s late and James mentioned before he was trying to catch up on sleep. 

“I just missed you. Can I come see you?” Aleks slurs into the phone. 

“Aleksandr, are you fucking drunk? It’s two in the goddamn morning. Did you fight with your girlfriend again?” James sighs, already making up his mind to come deal with his drunken asshole of a friend. 

“She’s gone,” Aleks murmurs sadly. “But now you’re here so it’s okay!” 

“Just don’t move, alright? I don’t want you hurting yourself. I’ll be there in like fifteen minutes.”

Aleks agrees happily, opting to stare at the ceiling again. It really did look like a face. 

~ 

James knocks at Aleks’ front door, surprised he is awake enough to even be doing this right now. 

The door swings open to reveal Aleks swaying slightly on his feet and a bottle in his hand. 

James steps past Aleks and snags the bottle from him. He’s already had plenty tonight judging from how he was looking. 

“I’m so glad you’re here, James,” Aleks says, practically gliding towards the couch in his effort to keep up with the man in front of him.

“I’m sure you are, Aleks,” James snorts before sitting down on the right side of the couch. He picks up the remote and turns on the TV like he has a hundred times before. Spending time at Aleks’ house was not a new concept, but dealing with a drunk Aleks alone definitely was. 

Instead of sitting on his usual left side, Aleks fits himself in the space next to James. It doesn’t catch James off guard like it used to, but he’s still vaguely surprised. 

“We’re going to watch shitty late night TV until you sober up and I can go home, alright?” James tells Aleks who has already begun to lean heavily on him. 

“Okay, James,” Aleks mutters, eyes starting to slip closed. 

James allows the ramblings of some talk show to play in the background as he watches Aleks shift from his shoulder to his lap. He realizes he’s effectively trapped now, but he doesn’t wake Aleks. It’s not worth it. He’ll take one uncomfortable night if it means Aleks is finally at ease. 

~ 

Sunlight streaming in through the blinds he forgot to close wakes Aleks up and the pounding headache and disgusting taste in his mouth are the unfriendly reminder of last night. He finally grasps the concept he’s not in his bed and that his pillow is actually someone’s lap after he goes to get up. 

_James. Shit, I called James. Why is James here? Why did he stay? God, I made an absolute idiot of myself last night. Fuck._

Aleks gingerly sits up, hoping James is still sleeping and he can avoid the awkward confrontation. Unfortunately for him, he locks eyes with an amused James. 

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. I’m glad one of us got to sleep well last night,” James jokes. 

Aleks wants to make a joke back but he accidentally blurts out, “Why did you stay?” instead. 

James shrugs and mumbles, “ **When you’re happy, I’m happy.** ”

Aleks thinks his heart genuinely skips a beat and he is overcome with the unexpected desire to kiss James. He goes to lean in, but James stops him with a gentle press to his shoulder. Aleks’ stomach sinks uncomfortably at the rejection, but James interrupts his self-pity. 

“You look adorable and shit right now, and yes, I definitely want to kiss you, but you’re hungover and you just got out of a relationship. We’ll figure out where we are tomorrow, okay? Today, you can just complain when it gets too loud and let me beat you in Gang Beasts,” James grins.

Aleks thinks he could live in this moment forever. 


End file.
